32nd Anniversary Season 2018—2019
The Placitas Artists Series is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
This project is made possible in part by New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs,
January Visual Artists
Visual Artists Reception
January 27, 2019 at 2 pm
All artist images are copyright protected and may not be duplicated or shared
without the express consent of the artist.
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Diane Orchard’s artwork has been exhibited in New Mexico, Arizona, and Canada.
Her work includes painting, mixed media, watercolor, and sculpture. She received
her BFA (distinguished exhibition) in painting and drawing from the University of
Saskatchewan. Orchard’s first exhibition, Passage to the Millennium (1998), was
positively reviewed in the Saskatchewan Craft Council Newsletter. After relocating
from Canada to New Mexico in 1997, she studied Native American art at the
University New Mexico. Classes in printmaking at New Grounds Print Studios and
in welding and metal sculpture in Albuquerque and Taos have added to her
repertoire. She emphasizes mark-making, texture, and the language of color.
In recent years, Orchard has participated in art programs at Anderson Ranch, CO;
Santa Fe; and Albuquerque. She regularly participates in the Placitas Artists Studio
Tour; and her work is on display at Lovelace Medical Center, New Mexico Heart
Institute, and private collections in Canada and New Mexico.
Diane says: “My nonrepresentational art includes contemporary mixed media prints,
paintings, and sculpture. My work is process oriented, including quick sketches or
drawings that help to visualize ideas. Experimentation is a key factor; and I include a
combination of techniques such as intaglio, monotype, and collage in the prints. Ideas
from literature, as well as environmental issues influence the work. Color, line, and
texture help me to develop the original concept into visual form.”
Stephen Palmer began his artistic career late in life. While still a Professor
of Psychology and Cognitive Science at University of California Berkeley,
he took up photography when the Nikon D100 digital SLR camera first
became available in 2002. That changed the direction of his research into
visual perception to include ground-breaking studies of visual aesthetics
that investigated people’s preferences for different colors, textures, and
spatial compositions. On retiring after 40+ years teaching at University of
California Berkeley and moving to Placitas to be with his now-husband,
Avi Kriechman, he switched from photography to painting because of the
greater artistic freedom and creativity it provides.
Stephen says: “I've always been fascinated by the vibrant colors, intricate
textures, and abstract geometries of natural materials, like polished marble,
agate, jasper, and petrified wood. But when I tried to paint them using
brushes on canvas, I failed miserably. Then I tried pouring paint instead of
brushing it, and it all came together. I create my ‘Liquid Color’ paintings by
pouring acrylic paints, inks, and media over Plexiglas to produce brilliant,
translucent layers of ‘colored-texture-in-motion’ that blend and separate into
marvelous streams, pools, eddies, and cells. The Plexiglas foundation makes
frames optional and allows me to use unusual shapes, especially elegant
curves, to compose figures in front of a farther ground in 3D ‘wall
sculptures.’ It is great fun, and I feel like I’m just beginning to explore the
process and the medium.”
Learning to paint in oils was always one of Gene Rinchik's goals in life; but
he got started rather late. After earning a Ph.D. in genetics from Duke
University in 1983, Gene spent most of his career as an educator and
research scientist in genetics at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the
University of Tennessee, and Sarah Lawrence College. He then followed
that career by 10 years as a real estate broker in the Hudson Valley of New
York. He was fortunate in 2010 to be able to study with neo-Hudson River
School landscape painter, Kevin Cook, in New Paltz, New York. In June
2014, Gene retired and moved to Placitas recognizing, as have many
others, that New Mexico is a special place that provides constant
inspiration for creating art.
Gene says: “I have always been drawn to representational art, particularly
to work from the 19th century Hudson River School and Impressionist
periods, as a way of visualizing the natural world. I love creating landscapes
in the Hudson River School style, and enjoy applying that style's techniques
and palette to represent the western United States and other memorable
places. I am fascinated by working with subtleties of color, 1000 shades of
gray, if you will, much like the Hudson River School painters did.”
Katherine Christie Wilson moved to Placitas in 2008 after retiring from a
career in education. She graduated from Colby College in Maine and later
majored in painting at the Portland School of Art, now Maine College of
Art. She received her master’s degree from the University of Maine.
Wilson began her art career working in oils and watercolors and later
created silkscreen prints, custom designs on ceramic tile, and paintings on
silk. Her work has been shown in numerous local galleries and shows.
Wilson is a member of the New Mexico Art League and the Foothills Art
Group.
Katherine says: “I love hiking and capturing the visual experiences in my
paintings. I am fascinated by light and shadow, strong design, and
unexpected color in the natural world. I am drawn to the atmosphere and
geology of New Mexico and to the softer, greener landscapes of Maine, where
I spend the summer.”
